National Register of Historic Places listings in Kentucky facts for kids

Kentucky counties

Kentucky counties

This page is about special places in Kentucky that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This register is like a national list of buildings, sites, and objects that are important to American history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture. When a place is on this list, it means it's recognized as a valuable part of our past and should be protected.

Kentucky is a state with a rich history, and because of that, it has many places on this list. In fact, every single one of Kentucky's 120 counties has at least one historic place or district on the National Register!

What is the National Register of Historic Places?

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation's historic places that are worth saving. It's managed by the National Park Service, which is part of the United States government. Being on the Register helps people understand and appreciate the history around them. It also helps protect these places from being changed or destroyed.

Why are places added to the Register?

Places are added to the National Register for many reasons. They might be:

• Very old buildings that show how people lived long ago.
• Sites where important events happened, like battles or famous speeches.
• Homes of important people, like presidents or inventors.
• Places that show special ways of building or designing things.
• Areas that have many historic buildings together, called historic districts.

When a place is listed, it means it has a special story to tell about our country's past.

Historic Places in Kentucky's Counties

Kentucky has many amazing historic places. The National Register keeps track of all of them. The number of listed sites changes often as new places are added. This list gives you an idea of how many historic spots each county in Kentucky has.

Some counties have just a few listed places, while others have hundreds! This often depends on how old the county is or how many important events happened there. For example, Jefferson County, where the city of Louisville is located, has a very large number of historic listings. This is because Louisville is a big, old city with a lot of history.

Baughman's Mill and Stanford Railroad Depot in Lincoln County Downtown Versailles Historic District in Woodford County Rev. Jesse R. Zeigler House in Franklin County

County Number of Sites 1 Adair 9 2 Allen 11 3 Anderson 12 4 Ballard 6 5 Barren 34 6 Bath 9 7 Bell 9 8 Boone 107 9 Bourbon 61 10 Boyd 26 11 Boyle 95 12 Bracken 22 13 Breathitt 7 14 Breckinridge 11 15 Bullitt 9 16 Butler 16 17 Caldwell 9 18 Calloway 17 19 Campbell 60 20 Carlisle 5 21 Carroll 11 22 Carter 4 23 Casey 2 24 Christian 49 25 Clark 66 26 Clay 4 27 Clinton 2 28 Crittenden 3 29 Cumberland 3 30 Daviess 37 31 Edmonson 23 32 Elliott 1 33 Estill 8 34 Fayette 173 35 Fleming 10 36 Floyd 15 37 Franklin 55 38 Fulton 16 39 Gallatin 4 40 Garrard 67 41 Grant 2 42 Graves 11 43 Grayson 11 44 Green 46 45 Greenup 20 46 Hancock 12 47 Hardin 90 48 Harlan 6 49 Harrison 25 50 Hart 18 51 Henderson 27 52 Henry 12 53 Hickman 5 54 Hopkins 32 55 Jackson 5 56.1 Jefferson: Anchorage 35 56.2 Jefferson: Downtown Louisville 84 56.3 Jefferson: The Highlands, Louisville 29 56.4 Jefferson: Old Louisville 32 56.5 Jefferson: Portland 32 56.6 Jefferson: West End Louisville 49 56.7 Jefferson: Other 219 56.8 Jefferson: Total 480 57 Jessamine 73 58 Johnson 39 59 Kenton 64 60 Knott 5 61 Knox 8 62 LaRue 31 63 Laurel 9 64 Lawrence 10 65 Lee 9 66 Leslie 5 67 Letcher 3 68 Lewis 6 69 Lincoln 22 70 Livingston 7 71 Logan 22 72 Lyon 3 73 Madison 78 74 Magoffin 3 75 Marion 12 76 Marshall 5 77 Martin 2 78 Mason 37 79 McCracken 30 80 McCreary 3 81 McLean 9 82 Meade 13 83 Menifee 6 84 Mercer 71 85 Metcalfe 5 86 Monroe 6 87 Montgomery 18 88 Morgan 9 89 Muhlenberg 11 90 Nelson 41 91 Nicholas 12 92 Ohio 19 93 Oldham 48 94 Owen 17 95 Owsley 1 96 Pendleton 20 97 Perry 1 98 Pike 16 99 Powell 16 100 Pulaski 39 101 Robertson 3 102 Rockcastle 4 103 Rowan 13 104 Russell 1 105 Scott 82 106 Shelby 138 107 Simpson 14 108 Spencer 14 109 Taylor 14 110 Todd 15 111 Trigg 8 112 Trimble 29 113 Union 7 114 Warren 101 115 Washington 68 116 Wayne 8 117 Webster 3 118 Whitley 12 119 Wolfe 4 120 Woodford 82 (duplicates) (16) Total: 3,358

Kentucky State Capitol in Franklin County Confederate Monument in Murray in Calloway County Wigwam Village No. 2 in Barren County